Automotive Industry
With the development of the automotive industry, CNC machine tools play an increasingly important role in it. The CNC machining expansion promotes the process of the automotive industry revolution. Until now, the domestic auto industry not only relies on the technological progress of precision auto CNC machining but also drives its development. Every link of precision auto parts production is inseparable from numerical control machine tools. Also, tools need the automotive industry’s support, which is the largest market of precision machined parts.
In today’s car production, the development cycle of new products is continuously shortening. As a result, automotive manufacturers reduce cost. According to statistics, it takes a four-year development cycle for auto. Now, it only needs two years to complete. On the one hand, automotive manufacturers have adopted advanced new methods for product lines development. Also, they use virtual manufacturing, synchronous engineering, and other advanced technologies. More importantly, it gets the benefit from the efforts of equipment suppliers who provide custom automotive machining. Especially, they provide a wide range of CNC machine tools that make all kinds of custom parts. And these tools allow automobile manufacturers to provide high quality product lines that meet market demand at the fastest speed.
1. Advantages of CNC machine tools
Society is developing, and people’s living standards are improving. Nowadays, hundreds of millions of families have their cars. So, the production volume of overseas and domestic auto is huge. And there is an urgent need to reduce production costs and improve efficiency. Of course, more important is to improve the quality of the car.
Users in the automobile industry favor numerical control machine tools because they have many advantages. Such as high precision, high production efficiency, stable performance, low failure rate, long failure-free time, the high operating rate of the equipment, and convenient repeated processing. CNC machine tool has a wide range of applications in the automotive industry and is in a leading position.
Usually, precision auto parts suppliers use CNC lathes to process shaft parts and disc parts. For example, crankshafts, camshafts, flywheels, front hubs, rear hubs, brake discs, shafts, gears, gear sleeves, and differentials, shell, etc. Besides, shaft and disc parts account for the majority of automotive precision parts. So, the wide range application of CNC in the auto industry improves production efficiency and ensures custom automotive machining accuracy. In addition, it reduces the manufacturing costs of custom parts.
2. CNC machine tools application in the precision auto parts production
There are more than 10,000 parts for a car. And the production of a few auto parts has nothing to do with CNC machine tools.
2.1 Precision engine parts
As the heart of the automobile, the engine requires high manufacturing and machining precision. In addition, the producing process of precision engine parts is complicated. The cylinder block is the most significant engine part, and it is also the support for other parts. During its fabricating process, precision auto CNC machined parts manufacturers cast first. Then, using custom CNC milling to make “three holes and four sides”. At last, precision machining company use CNC machine tools to fine boring the cylinder.
For the engine piston, we also cast first, then CNC machined, and finally finely ground. And for the connecting rod, first using the process of rolling forging, then CNC machining. In addition, the crankshaft has high dynamic balance requirements. The cam profile of the camshaft has very high accuracy requirements. So both of them must be CNC machined. The most complicated part of the engine is the cylinder head, which is also a CNC automotive part.
The oil pan of the engine is stamped from thin steel plates. It seems to have nothing to do with CNC machine tools. But, have you ever thought that they also make the stamping die?
2.2 Automotive precision parts in the gearbox
The gearbox is the most crucial transmission mechanism in a car. It has a large number of gears and shaft parts. Now in high quality automobile manufacturing, suppliers make all gears and shafts in the gearbox by CNC machining services. It has significant advantages when processing gears and other high precision machined parts. Nowadays, gear shaping, gear shaving, and gear hobbing are often used to make them. As a result, they have high machining accuracy and high production efficiency.
After processing the shaft into a stepped shaft, there are milling key grooves, drawing splines, etc. These have greatly improved the matching accuracy. After casting the gearbox housing, we must mill the end face and shaft hole in the CNC machining center. It aims to ensure the spacing between the shafts. Even the quenching of the flange is done in the quenching captain.
2.3 Drive axle
Drive axle is also a crucial transmission mechanism. The two hypoid gears of the main reducer in the drive axle must be CNC machined. And we also use it to make bevel gears in the differential. For the axle housing, CNC automotive parts suppliers need to mill end faces and holes after casting. And several bolt holes on end faces are processed by a special machine tool at one time.
People pay more and more attention to the aesthetics of modern auto bodies. At the same time, people want to obtain better aerodynamics and collision safety to reduce driving resistance and improve safety. So, the shape of the car body becomes more and more complex. And there are more and more high-order equations of curved surfaces. Modern car bodies are all stamped, and any stamping is inseparable from the CNC machining center.
There are many automotive precision parts that are difficult to machine. They are often unable to be processed by ordinary machine tools, but CNC machine tools. For example, when dealing with large quantities of automobile engines, gearboxes, and main parts of the chassis, suppliers need to use a 5-axis machining center.
3. The application prospects of CNC machine tools in the automotive industry
With the rapid development of the automotive industry and CNC technology, I am convinced that CNC machine tools will be more deeply applied to automotive production. It accelerates the development of the automotive industry and serves it. The automobile industry will also promote the development of CNC machine tools.